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1978 Purdue

9–⁠2–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Jim Young, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1978, game by game: won vs. Michigan State 21–14; won vs. Ohio 24–0; lost at Notre Dame 6–10; won vs. Wake Forest 14–7; won vs. No. 16 Ohio State 27–16; won at Illinois 13–0; won at Iowa 34–7; won vs. Northwestern 31–0; tied at Wisconsin 24–24; lost at No. 7 Michigan 6–24; won vs. Indiana 20–7; won vs. Georgia Tech 41–21+31−18Won 21–14 vs. Michigan State+7Michigan StateWon 24–0 vs. Ohio+24OhioLost 6–10 at Notre Dame-4Notre DameWon 14–7 vs. Wake Forest+7Wake ForestWon 27–16 vs. No. 16 Ohio State+11No. 16 Ohio StateWon 13–0 at Illinois+13IllinoisWon 34–7 at Iowa+27IowaWon 31–0 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternTied 24–24 at Wisconsin0WisconsinLost 6–24 at No. 7 Michigan-18No. 7 MichiganWon 20–7 vs. Indiana+13IndianaWon 41–21 vs. Georgia Tech+20Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsMichigan StateW 21–⁠1449%
Sep 23vsOhioW 24–⁠077%
Sep 30atNotre DameL 6–⁠1028%
Oct 7vsWake ForestW 14–⁠779%
Oct 14vs16Ohio StateW 27–⁠1642%
Oct 21atIllinoisW 13–⁠064%
Oct 28atIowaW 34–⁠768%
Nov 4vsNorthwesternW 31–⁠091%
Nov 11atWisconsinT 24–⁠2464%
Nov 18at7MichiganL 6–⁠2425%
Nov 25vsIndianaW 20–⁠773%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvsGeorgia TechPeach BowlW 41–⁠2154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia Tech 41–⁠21 in the Peach Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 19
  2. Wk 8: 17
  3. Wk 9: 14
  4. Wk 10: 12
  5. Wk 11: 15
  6. Wk 12: 18
  7. Wk 13: 17
  8. Wk 14: 17
  9. Final: 13

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1978.

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 12
Points
261–⁠130
Coach
Jim Young
Elo
1623 +132 this season
SP+ rating
11.0 No. 38 of 133; offense No. 80, defense No. 12
SRS
12.4 No. 26 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Leon Burtnett
Captains
Tim Eubank and Willie Harris
Most valuable player
Keena Turner

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • John MaconRB
  • Ken LoushinDLAP-1; UPI-1
  • Keena TurnerDLAP-1; UPI-1
  • Marcus JacksonDL

Second team

  • Dale SchwanOGAP-2
  • John LeFeberOGUPI-2
  • Steve McKenzieOTAP-2; UPI-2
  • Scott SovereenKAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠25
Michigan State7–⁠18–⁠312
Purdue6–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠113
Ohio State6–⁠27–⁠4–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠45–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠4–⁠25–⁠4–⁠2
Indiana3–⁠54–⁠7
Iowa2–⁠62–⁠9
Illinois0–⁠6–⁠21–⁠8–⁠2
Northwestern0–⁠8–⁠10–⁠10–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.